Heavy-traffic analysis of k-limited polling systems

In this paper we study a two-queue polling model with zero switch-over times and $k$-limited service (serve at most $k_i$ customers during one visit period to queue $i$, $i=1,2$) in each queue. The arrival processes at the two queues are Poisson, and the service times are exponentially distributed. By increasing the arrival intensities until one of the queues becomes critically loaded, we derive exact heavy-traffic limits for the joint queue-length distribution using a singular-perturbation technique. It turns out that the number of customers in the stable queue has the same distribution as the number of customers in a vacation system with Erlang-$k_2$ distributed vacations. The queue-length distribution of the critically loaded queue, after applying an appropriate scaling, is exponentially distributed. Finally, we show that the two queue-length processes are independent in heavy traffic

Waiting times in a two-queue model with exhaustive and Bernoulli service

Network Analysis;operations research

Iterative approximation of k-limited polling systems

The present paper deals with the problem of calculating queue length distributions in a polling model with (exhaustive) k-limited service under the assumption of general arrival, service and setup distributions. The interest for this model is fueled by an application in the field of logistics. Knowledge of the queue length distributions is needed to operate the system properly. The multi-queue polling system is decomposed into single-queue vacation systems with k-limited service and state-dependent vacations, for which the vacation distributions are computed in an iterative approximate manner. These vacation models are analyzed via matrix-analytic techniques. The accuracy of the approximation scheme is verified by means of an extensive simulation study. The developed approximation turns out be accurate, robust and computationally efficient

Stochastic bounds for order flow times in warehouses with remotely located order-picking workstations

This paper focuses on the mathematical analysis of order flow times in parts-to-picker warehouses with remotely located order-picking workstations. To this end, a polling system with a new type of arrival process and service discipline is introduced as a model for an order-picking workstation. Stochastic bounds are deduced for the cycle time, which corresponds to the order flow time. These bounds are shown to be adequate and aid in setting targets for the throughput of the storage area. The paper thus complements existing literature, which mainly focuses on optimizing the operations in the storage area. Keywords: warehousing, order-picking workstation, order flow time, polling system, cycle time, stochastic bound

Workloads and waiting times in single-server systems with multiple customer classes

One of the most fundamental properties that single-server multi-class service systems may possess is the property of work conservation. Under certain restrictions, the work conservation property gives rise to a conservation law for mean waiting times, i.e., a linear relation between the mean waiting times of the various classes of customers. This paper is devoted to single-server multi-class service systems in which work conservation is violated in the sense that the server's activities may be interrupted although work is still present. For a large class of such systems with interruptions, a decomposition of the amount of work into two independent components is obtained; one of these components is the amount of work in the corresponding systemwithout interruptions. The work decomposition gives rise to a (pseudo)conservation law for mean waiting times, just as work conservation did for the system without interruptions